How Would You Dress For Your Interview? Make Sure Your House Is “Dressed For Success,” Too!

29Sep11

The good folks at Pineapple Interiors recently showed a group of Perry & Co. Denver, Colorado Realtors why it’s important to dress your home for success.

Recently we had the pleasure of reconnecting with the owners of Pineapple Interiors, a home-staging and furniture leasing company that serves the Denver Metropolitan area. We had seen their work firsthand several years ago when we asked them to “stage” our Denver headquarters meeting room for a group of Realtors. Our couches and chairs, side tables and plants were moved and “dressed up” with their accessories to create a warm and welcoming space. It did seem like magic! Last week, Shelley Brouwer, owner and designer, came to our Greenwood Village office to tell us about the difference between staged homes and un-staged homes. We chatted before the meeting began. As usual, Shelley walks her talk – she was dressed professionally, and had her facts and figures at hand along with sleek, promotional materials to leave behind. We were eager to hear the entire presentation, and Shelley said we’d start as soon as her business partner arrived.

Tammie O’Brien, the above mentioned business partner, waltzed in a few minutes later. Tammie clearly had been in a rush to get to the meeting: her hair was thrown up in a messy pony tail, she was wearing a large, baggy Pink Floyd t-shirt with a pair of jeans and flip flops. She looked like she’d come from working in her garden. At the time, we didn’t realize that everyone was equally shocked by her appearance.

Shelley smiled and began to explain. She, of course, was exhibiting herself as the “staged” home: she’d spent time on her hair and make-up, carefully selecting an outfit to present to our group and bringing the materials. Tammie represented the un-staged home, wearing her husband’s favorite band t-shirt, a pair of old jeans and her oldest pair of worn flip flops! She explained they had wanted us to see and feel how differently our impressions would be based on outward appearance. Boy – did we get it!

In addition to how one feels when presented with staged home, the designers had hard facts to support how important it is to stage a home in today’s real estate market. The statistics were compelling: national average days-on-market (an industry standard) with a staged home is 1.35 months versus homes without staging at 10.4 months! The cost savings of a faster sale on average can be over $25,000. Here in Denver, homes staged by Pineapple Interiors sell, on average, in less than half the time as the city-wide average of 100 days. They recommend staging before professional photos are taken on a home because 9 out of 10 buyers started with home-buying search on the Internet, then they decide on which homes to visit. You want your home staged in the photos to maximize its assets and result in a showing. Home staging costs vary on the number of rooms that are staged and whether sellers use their own furnishings or want Pineapple to provide and whether or not the home is vacant. Staging, Shelley Brouer concluded, almost always costs less than a price reduction. For more information about staging, contact your Perry & Co. Realtor or go to pineappleinteriors.net to see some staged examples of sold homes!